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Welcome to my occasional blog. Click a post title to see that entry with larger images or click an image for a larger version of the image. Outback Camping Trip Day 13 - WintonWednesday 16 Sep 2015 We weren't sure whether it would be worth the 110 km each way drive to see the Lark Quarry dinosaur footprints but in the end we decided to do the drive. It was worth it for the landscape alone. This is the view from the car park back along the approach road. While the footprints and the guide's description were interesting, I thought the lighting could have been better as it was placed low so the shadows would bring out the footprints but it was quite dim. After the tour we tried the short Spinifex Walk (in the midday sun) which takes you to the top of a hill behind the building.
On the way back we took a short detour to the Nareen jump-up where the plain drops 60 metres or so. You are driving along on a typical flat plain when the plain suddenly drops and continues at a lower level. Here is the view looking South-West - what appears to be a ridge in the middle distance is the edge of the same plain I am standing on. And here is the view from close to the same spot looking back along the road to the east. Later in the afternoon we returned to Bladensberg National Park to have a look at the homestead and shearing shed. This was a grazing property before being acquired as a national park.
The shearing shed is a short drive from the homestead.
Tomorrow we start the trip home. Outback Camping Trip Day 12 - WintonTuesday 15 Sep A little bit of excitement for some of the campers when a couple of Brolgas visited the caravan park.
The Age of Dinosaurs Museum is situated on the edge of a mesa a short distance from Winton. The location is spectacular and the main museum building blends with its location.
The separate laboratory building is a short distance away, accessed by a path along the surprisingly flat mesa.
In the lab, volunteers work on the fossils.
More views from around the museum.
We tried a walk that went below the cliffs. The path wasn't all that well defined and we must have lost it at some point and the last part of the walk was a bit rough, but we made it back.
More photos in the gallery.
Outback Camping Trip Day 11 - Longreach to WintonMonday 14 Sep 2015 The pattern of the early morning sun on these tanks caught my eye while we were preparing to pack up at Longreach.
Very little grass is to be seen around Longreach and Winton. There is grass along the road, but the adjoining paddock is almost bare. This is on the highway between Longreach and Winton.
I took this photo of Bev while we were waiting for our coffee to be served in the Winton Bakery.
Unlike the Longreach Tourist Park, the Pelican Caravan Park had grass and shade-cloth.
After a quick look around town, we had a look at the nearby Bladensberg National Park and found it as dry as everywhere else. This is supposedly Mitchell Grass plains, but not much grass to be seen.
Although there were signs to points of interest, they didn't show distances, so we decided to get more information before going any further. We relaxed at the camp site during the hottest part of the afternoon, then went to have a look at the long waterhole where a number of birds were drinking and feeding. Whte-plumed Honeyeaters.
Budgerigars
Black-fronted Dotterel
Prepared with a guide, we went back to the Bladensberg National Park. Everywhere is so dry.
Engine Hole, Surprise Creek
On the Jump-up
Along Opalton Road.
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